More than 5,000 young adults will gather in Washington, D.C. for the first youth assembly designed to solve our environmental crisis, and UT students will not be missing out. From Nov. 2 to Nov. 5, more than 30 UT students will attend a conference called Power Shift in hopes of tackling issues such as global warming and alternative fossil fuels.

"I can't imagine why anyone who cares about the future of our world, our climate, and wants a voice in our country's role in it would not want to go," said Hollie Ernest, co-coordinator of the UT chapter of Power Shift and a senior in environmental studies.

There are 11,000 plants and animals endangered of being extinct in part due to global warming. It doesn't just affect human beings. Stephanie Packham, co-coordinator of UT's chapter of Power Shift    The students have found various accommodations for their stay in Washington. Ernest said some students are sleeping in basements, on couches, in backyards and on any available floor space. They also secured two hotel rooms with the assistance of Michael McKinney, director of the Environmental Studies Program and professor of evolutionary biology and environmental science.

Activities will include three panels of speakers on Saturday discussing a variety of topics concerning our climate situation. Then on Sunday, more than 100 workshops will be offered, and on Monday everyone from Power Shift will lobby to get four bills passed through Congress. The bills are Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act, Senate Energy Bill, Waxman Safe Climate Act and the House Energy Bill.

Stephanie Packham, co-coordinator of the UT chapter of Power Shift and a sophomore in environmental studies, feels global warming is something that affects everyone, so it must be stopped.

"There are 11,000 plants and animals endangered of being extinct in part due to global warming. It doesn't just affect human beings," Packham said.